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Gena Hamshaw of the blog Choosing Raw eats a mostly raw, vegan diet without losing time, money, or her sanity. Let her show you how to make "rabbit food" taste delicious and satisfying every other Thursday on Food52.

When I first took the vegan plunge, I made a mental tally of foods I expected never to eat again. They included: shepherd's pie, lasagna, a perfect latte, meatloaf, whipped cream, and, since I'm Greek, moussaka and avgolemono. Now that I've perfected vegan avgolemono, I have officially eaten (and eaten often) every single food I thought I'd kissed goodbye for good. If this comes as a surprise to you, believe me when I say that it comes as a surprise to me, too.

One of the most important lessons being vegan has taught me is that the dishes we love to eat are often less dependent upon ingredients than we think they are. I don't mean that quality of ingredients isn't crucial, of course; I mean that the essence of a beloved food often resides more in its taste, texture, and the feeling it evokes than in any one featured ingredient. In my last column, I hope I made a good case that shepherd's pie can be perfectly satisfying without meat; if one can create the same heartiness with lentils and the same creaminess in mashed potatoes, the dish feels utterly authentic. So too with so many of our most beloved dishes.

And so too with pie.

Yes, pie. No matter how quickly it makes your mind turn to butter, milk, eggs, and whipped cream, pie lends itself easily to vegan interpretation. Today, I'll show you that vegan pie is infinitely easier than you may think, starting with one simple substitution: coconut oil instead of butter in your crust.

Coconut oil, like butter, is a saturated fat, which means it stays solid at room temperature. If your kitchen happens to be quite toasty, you'll see the oil melt and become clear, but you can easily keep it solid by giving it a quick refrigeration. As any lover of pie-making knows, the secret to perfect crust is to keep everything solid and cold. I've tried some fine olive oil crusts in my day, but the best vegan crust I've tried so far is crust made with coconut oil, which seems to replicate perfectly the flaky texture and even the buttery scent of traditional pie crust. When I first made it at home, I was stunned by how easy and authentic it was.

The next trick to vegan pie is to think about how you can create fillings that don't rely on butter or milk. A few tips that may come in handy:

• Crumbles? Easy: Coconut oil is also marvelous in crumble toppings. Use it just the way you'd use butter; one of my favorite tricks is to pulse rolled oats, brown sugar, sea salt, and coconut oil in a food processor for a rustic, hearty oat and sugar crumble.

• Try a fruit pie: Most fruit pies need little or no fancy substitution to be made vegan. Just toss your berries or apples with some brown sugar, some cornstarch (or tapioca starch, which is my personal preference, and can be easily found in health food stores or Whole Foods Markets), and whatever spices you like (cinnamon, nutmeg). Fill the pie, and bake!

• Switch up your sugars: Choose brown sugar, cane sugar, or demerara sugar over white. This may be preferable from a health standpoint, but more importantly, if you're modifying a pie recipe to be vegan, it's worth noting that white sugar isn't actually vegan! The refining process for white sugar includes bone char, so it, along with gelatin, is off limits. I personally love liquid sweeteners -- agave syrup, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, and brown rice syrup -- but cane sugar is a safe bet, too.

• Don't forget the toppings: Full-fat coconut milk makes incredible whipped cream. Just let the can separate (as it naturally will when left standing), and use the thick, full-fat layer that is suspended on top. Whisk it briskly and thoroughly with a touch of maple syrup and vanilla for a rich cream that will melt over your pie like magic.

• Creaminess without dairy: Cashews, coconut milk, and silken tofu all make for rich, creamy pie fillings. Of these, soaked cashews may be my favorite, because they add creaminess while also keeping the mixture thick (as in the pumpkin pie you're about to see!). But silken tofu and coconut cream work nicely too, and are also useful for any kind of cream pie.

Need proof? Try this 100% vegan pumpkin pie, made without cream, eggs, condensed milk, or butter. I hope you'll find that it's just as indulgent and satisfying as the "real" thing, and that it inspires you to think about other favorites that can stand to be veganized, one ingredient swap at a time.

Excellent recipe, though I don't recommend making this pie in an earthenware pie plate, as the crust was sadly undercooked when the filling was done. It tastes delicious; several declared it the best pumpkin pie ever. In fact, I used this recipe, without the crust, and using freshly roasted butternut squash, to make a luscious pudding which we enjoyed with T-Day leftovers over the weekend. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for another outstanding recipe, Gena! ;o)

Hi! You are awesome. Kale, kale, kale and more raw kale for me too. This recipe is great. I am going to try it out tonight! And I've been trying gluten free pie crusts all week - so far the best one I"ve found that works well and allows me to make a few mods is here: http://www.wholefoodsmarket... - happy baking, and thank you for all the inspiration!

aa1893, Spectrum brand makes expeller (mechanically) pressed refined coconut oil. The extra virgin or virgin versions are always more nutritious, but the filtered one (refined) doesn't have any coconut flavor at alll, and is still better than shortening. You can also try using half coconut oil and half mild-tasting evoo (measured and then frozen for at least 1 hour, so it's as solid as possible, if using for a pie crust), and even some vanilla seeds and/or spices into the dough.
Gena, I agree that coconut sugar is $$$, but the price has definitely come down quite a bit in the last couple of years, don't you think so?

It has! For sure. In a recipe like this, where I'm already recommending one rather pricey ingredient (coconut oil) I try to see if I can keep other ingredients less pricey (and demerara sugar, while not cheap, is cheaper). That said, I totally agree that coconut crystals are delightful, and healthier than other vegan sugars.

Spelt and whole wheat pastry work like a charm -- I wanted to do something really classic for my first vegan pie crust for the site, but I do love the rustic results with spelt flour. I'm working on a GF version but it will involve some fine tuning. And a different, no-bake version of pumpkin pie (no bake crust AND filling) will be on my blog shortly before Thanksgiving.

I'm interested in the whole raw food, vegan world, but I dislike coconut. Strongly. And this seems to present a major roadblock with many of the recipes for "yummies" that I've seen, especially with raw recipes. Any thoughts?

Can't wait to bake this pie! Two suggestions: for sweetening, coconut palm sugar (granulated) and nectar (liquid) are incredible vegan options and are becoming more widely available. As for whipping coconut milk into cream, I suggest refrigerating the can (still closed) overnight, which separates the cream more efficiently and whips with the use of a whisk, you won't even need an electric mixer. Flavored with vanilla bean, turns into deliciousness!

Am I missing something - is Crisco not vegan? Plenty of traditional pie crust recipes already call for crisco as the only shortening...seems like that's an easier to find and cheaper alternative to coconut oil.

Hi lazychef! You're right, Crisco is a blend of only vegetable oils. But there are many reasons why health- and environment-conscious cooks choose not to stock it on their shelves. Crisco is a blend of fully and partially hydrogenated oils. While the brand-name stuff changed their formula a few years back to reduce trans fats, hydrogenated oils are still thought to be quite bad for our digestion, cellular health, liver and kidney functions, and organ resilience. Even if you don't believe that, they are heavily processed and have many ingredients. One of those ingredients is palm oil, which has been linked to severe deforestation--particularly in areas of protected rainforest--due to it's ubiquitous use in commercialized processed foods. Coconut oil is a pretty magical saturated fat; though it is hard at room temperatures, it does not have the same artery-clogging properties as butter. Nutrition scientists have actually found that rather than being blocked at cell walls, it permeates them, transporting nutrients efficiently and effectively. It is also easily found in organic varieties that are not much more pricey than non-organic. Overall it can be a much better choice, especially when using for special occasions, like pie making! If it's too expensive at your local health food store or co-op, check ethnic stores like asian or latin markets. Have fun with holiday baking experimentation!

honestcookin totally nailed it here. Crisco is indeed vegan, but whenever possible we like to encourage using ingredients made from whole foods -- and coconut oil is no exception. Let us know your results if you try out the pie!

(And a note: Trader Joe's has a great jar of coconut oil that is much less expensive than its counterpart at Whole Foods Market. And as honestcookin pointed out, ethnic markets are another great place to look!)

Yes, Crisco is cheaper, and there are other brands of vegan shortening, so you can substitute it if your budget demands. That said, I echo honestcookin and Nozlee about the health concerns, and also would say that coconut oil actually has a buttery flavor and smell that enhance the taste immensely. So it's worth a try! Amazon has good deals on coconut oil, and Nozlee's TJ option is great, too.